[03/15/13 - 11:19 AM]Men's College Basketball - Most-Viewed Regular Season Ever on ESPNESPN spins the numbers for its NCAA coverage to date this season.

[via press release from ESPN]

Men's College Basketball - Most-Viewed Regular Season Ever on ESPN

ESPN TV Networks' 602 Games Averages More Than 500,000 Viewers

Louisville Most-Viewed Market

ESPN's extensive coverage of the 2012-13 men's college basketball regular-season was the network's most-viewed ever. For the season, ESPN averaged 1,370,000 viewers over 135 games, surpassing the previous high of 1,353,000 viewers over 130 telecasts in 2011-12. ESPN averaged a 1.1 coverage rating for each season.

Season's Top Three Telecasts

ESPN scored this season's three largest audiences for a college basketball game on the network within a month.

· Then-No. 3 Indiana defeating No. 1 Michigan on February 2 is the most-viewed and highest-rated with an average of 4,035,000 viewers, a 2.9 coverage rating and 2,867,000 households.

· Then-No. 1 Indiana beating No. 4 Michigan State on February 19 is the second-largest audience of the season with an average of 3,733,000 viewers, a 2.7 coverage rating and 2,677,000 households.

· Then-No. 3 Duke defeating No. 5 Miami 79-76 on March 2 averaged 3,416,000 viewers, a 2.5 coverage rating and 2,459,000 households, making it the network's third most-viewed and third highest-rated men's college basketball game this season.

ESPN, ESPN2 & ESPNU's 602 Games Average More Than 500,000 Viewers

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU's 602 games for the 2012-13 season - the most extensive coverage on television and more than every network combined - averaged 508,000 total viewers.

Louisville Takes Top Spot... Again

For the 11th consecutive year, Louisville was the highest-rated metered market for ESPN's regular-season telecasts, averaging a 4.5 rating. Greensboro finished in second place for the second straight year with a 3.1 rating. In addition:

· All 10 of last season's top 10 metered markets finished the 2012-13 season among the top 10 again.

· Louisville, Greensboro, Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte remain the only markets to be among the top 10 every year since 2002-03. Additional markets in this season's top 10 also finished among the top 10 in multiple years:

· Knoxville, ninth this season, has finished in the top 10 every year since 2003-04.

· Kansas City, the fifth highest rated market in 2012-13, was a top 10 market every season except 2008-09 and 2004-05.

· Indianapolis, fourth this season, was a top market in eight of the past 11 years (except 2010-11, 2004-05 and 2003-04)

· Three markets were in the top 10 for basketball and college football in the most recent seasons: Columbus, tied at sixth in basketball was tied for fifth in football; Knoxville, tied for 10th in basketball was third in football; and Nashville, tied for 10th in basketball was ninth in football.

· Eleven markets have been in the top five at least once from 2002-03 to 2012-13: Charlotte, Cincinnati, Columbus, Greensboro, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Oklahoma City and Raleigh-Durham.

· Louisville is the only market to go 11 for 11.

· Greensboro finished as a top-five market every season but when it was sixth in 2004-05.

· Indianapolis jumped from seventh in 2011-12 to fourth, finishing with a 2.9 rating for a 61 percent increase over last year's 1.8 rating.

· Kansas City, which finished in the top three the past three years after not finishing in the top five the previous seven seasons, dropped to fifth.

· Columbus was in the top five the last four seasons straight but finished sixth in 2012-13.